middaeg | ( SEMI-OPEN ) may catch-all

(( AEFENGLOM; post-nightmare ))
[ It doesn't take long for him to feel that something's wrong with the bond. Nor that Jaskier hasn't quite been himself. He's known the bard long enough. As much as he'd rather not talk about what happened that night, he still needs to see what the fuck might be going on.

He searches for Jaskier in a few places: the tea room, popular taverns, the woods, he even asks the damn cat where he might be. (No answer.)

In the end, he tracks Jaskier down in the Entertainment District. It's...not exactly a brothel, as he knows it, but it's certainly an establishment on similar lines. Eyes turn on him as he enters. Geralt frowns, but ignores everyone as he hones in on Jaskier at one of the tables. His ears twitch, irritated by the excessive music.

He sets an ale down. ] Thirsty?

Edited 2021-05-08 08:50 (UTC)

(( GARDEN PARTY; blood moon; nighttime ))
[ For the most part, things have been quiet for him. Unsteady, but quiet: Ciri seems to be settling in, Jaskier has been finding company, which is a return to form for him, and Yennefer is...

They're working things out.

Geralt hasn't spoken to anyone about what happened that night, in his dream. It's a beast that lurks beneath, as so many things often do when it comes to his past. It's also not one he wants to address. He put it aside a long time ago. That it occasionally (often) haunts his sleep is of no importance.

In an effort to both distract himself and to be somewhere he can slip away unnoticed if need be, Geralt ends up in the fruit-filled gardens. The festivities aren't so damn loud here and there's free drinks on top of that. He'll take it.

He's already tipping back his second glass of wine, in fact, when the night has only shortly begun. It's not the worst way to spend the night: most people are busy enjoying their own time to care about one man lurking under a tree.

Then a plump ripe peach decides to drop off a branch, thumping him on the head. He blinks, cursing under his breath as it rolls beside him. ]

Edited 2021-05-04 20:47 (UTC)

.

Edited 2021-05-04 19:57 (UTC)

[By contrast, Alice's life has been far from quiet lately. But for the first time since Yuri left in January, the changes and chaos feel welcome rather than hurtful. Her heart is full from the changes in Aefenglom and in her personal life, and she feels like she belongs in a way she hasn't previously. Life isn't perfect, of course--she would much rather have Yuri and some departed friends here to share this joy with--but it's good. She'll take good.

The festivities that have popped up have caught her interest. The loud and rowdy Aeternae celebration is way too much for her, so she finds herself here in the Dryads' garden, sampling wine and enjoying the peace and beauty.

That is, until she hears a thunk followed by some grumbling. Alice quickly finds the source of the sound, crouching in front of the man who had been unfortunate enough to take a peach to the head.]

Are you all right?

[Alice doesn't recognize who he is despite having heard much and more about him. Jaskier had never really described Geralt beyond personality and temperament. And even if he had, the light is low and she lacks any kind of nightvision to see with much clarity.]

Edited 2021-05-04 23:15 (UTC)

[ He's already got the peach in his hand, turning it to see if it's good to eat—it looks ripe and fresh—when a voice interrupts him. His reply is dry, meant for strangers who stop to talk to him. ]

I might live.

[ There's a small pause as he takes a closer look. Her face isn't familiar, but her scent is. Have they met? No, he'd remember the face if they'd met. It takes him a moment, before he realizes what it is.

Jaskier. When he'd returned to the house that day and noticed they'd had a visitor. Interesting.

He rubs the peach on his shirt before taking a bite. He's curious to know who she is now. ]

Here for the wine?

[The grouchy response doesn't faze Alice too much. It isn't the first time she's received such in response to concern, even from (especially from?) people she knows well. The people she's traveled with, dear as they are to her heart, are not the most sociable bunch.

Rather, it's the way he looks at her that gives her pause. For a moment, Alice can't help but feel like she's being evaluated by this stranger. Whatever his reasons, it seems that she passes--he continues the conversation.

She shifts her position a bit, sitting across from him in earnest.]

Sort of. [She has a glass of wine in-hand, so the observation isn't really inaccurate.] I'm more here for the hosts and to see the garden. These dryads are so new, and I'd like to learn more about them.

What brings you to this garden party?

[ His reasons are several, but he decides on the simplest one. ]

City's gotten loud. Figured I'd keep out of the way.

[ He's been in the middle of a party that's spilled onto the streets before; it's not a good time and someone's always prone to a brawl when the ale flows too heavily. The garden suits him just fine.

Usually, he doesn't bother with introductions, but knowing Jaskier, he suspects his name's been brought up. Or if it hasn't, that would be telling, too. He offers his hand to see. ]

Geralt of Rivia.

[Alice can't blame him for that reason.]

The Diasteran Aeternae certainly are a lot, aren't they? I prefer the quiet, too.

[Her eyes widen a little in recognition when he offers his name. So this is the Witcher she's heard so much about. He doesn't look like she had imagined him, but in fairness it's not like Jaskier gave her much (or especially balanced) information to go on in that regard. And it's not as if he looks so differently as to entirely defy her expectations aside from the hair. She's never seen anyone with hair so similarly pale to her own.

It takes a second, but she collects herself and takes the offered hand, shaking it.]

Alice. Alice Elliot.

[She had expected their first meeting to be brokered by Jaskier, carefully planned and likely with a stern warning for everyone to be on their best behavior. As unprepared as she feels, however, meeting Geralt this way is probably for the better. At the very least, they can't be chattered over by a nervous bard.]

It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you. From Jaskier, I mean. Good things. [Mostly.]

Jaskier and I are... [Well, honestly, she has no idea. They're far more than friends, at this point, but she's not sure if "lovers" is any more accurate. The feelings are there but the situation is a bit more complicated, not least of all by her relationships with Yuri and Karin. So instead, she errs on the side of caution and eschews labels entirely.] We've grown very close these past few months.

[ So she is aware. Geralt makes no mention that he'd recognized her before the introduction, but he's not pretending otherwise, either. His expression is steady as she gives her name, no flicker of surprise when she says they're close. ]

He's mentioned. [ He can see why Jaskier has taken to her. She's refined, soft-spoken—nobility of some kind, he suspects, with the same violet eyes as Yennefer's. It's not the first time he's seen that shade on someone here, but it strikes him every time. ]

He says you've been helping him, after the Circle.

[ Comfort is not exactly in his skillset; he's felt far out of his depth about all of this, between keeping a close eye on the bard and struggling to keep his own turbulent past from spilling through their bond. As much as he's never said it out loud and never will, he's grateful Jaskier can find it in someone else. ]

[Alice isn't at all surprised to find that he knows who she is, although the idea that she's been recognized by scent doesn't occur to her. As far as she's figures, Jaskier's simply told him everything. He's not exactly the sort of person to keep things close to the vest, and there's been no need for secrecy besides. Even her request for discretion had been a more in-the-moment thing, not wanting to be caught in a compromising situation more than anything else.

She nods in response to Geralt's statement, confirming it.]

I have. Even before I really realized it, to be honest. I saw him at the initiation, and I... wasn't really myself. But I brought him food, and in turn he told me things that I needed to hear.

[Namely, he made it inescapably clear how horrible the whole situation was. It was the first jolt to her system of many that night, and she credits him for starting the process of getting herself back.]

Since then, I've just wanted to see him happy. He doesn't deserve to suffer like he has.

[There's a whole host of things she can also say--how she saw some older version of herself in him in those days just after the Circle, lost and in desperate need of help. How she had originally wanted to pay kindness paid to her forward. How that sympathy and empathy have blossomed and matured into so much more over time, and how her heart swells with pride every time she sees improvement. How much she cares.

But saying all of that requires much more vulnerability than she's willing to show, presently. Geralt is for all purposes a stranger, despite their connection through Jaskier.]

He's told me that you've done what you can for him, too. I met the kitten you got him. She's very cute.

[ He's quiet as she speaks, regarding her thoughtfully. Even after she finishes, there's a moment before he answers. Geralt doesn't often meet someone who speaks so softly of Jaskier. His reputation and fame back home means people either swoon over him or find him insufferable.

Truth be told, it's hard to know what to say. Geralt doesn't discuss much about his relationship with Jaskier. Or any of his relationships, actually, beyond acknowledging that there is a relationship. But Alice seems to be someone different to Jaskier. He finds himself not wanting to dismiss the bard the way he tends to with strangers.

Before they'd parted on that mountain, Jaskier had, in not so many words, admitted he was searching for contentment. Geralt knows he'd been too distracted to reflect on it at the time—but lately, that conversation has come back to him. ]

I thought he could use the company. Seems he's found it in you.

Edited 2021-05-08 08:52 (UTC)

[Jaskier did not know what was happening to him. It started with the dreams, but they were so blessedly free of the Cwyld he didn't mind them. Better than nightmares, at any rate. Some of them were even lovely. There were soft voices, hands roaming over his body. The full, heavy moon brightening up the Geardagas sky. It was especially beautiful now, and in these dreams, when he looked around, he was never alone. Not like he'd been in his nightmares. There was warmth, hands and kisses, the light of the moon reflecting off jewelry adorning horns and tails. The dreams became more vivid over the week, and then --

Then the Looking Glass. He hadn't thought of the mirror he'd come through in a long time, and had not been back to visit it. There was no reason to when there was simply no going back to his sphere, if he so wanted. The cool glass, and his frame carved up with monsters of all sorts, tangled in long lines of a musical staff, and, of course, dandelions on the corners. He'd forgotten what it looked like, honestly.

And he woke up there, standing in front of it. At first it scared the shit out of him, standing alone in the Looking Glass House, and he felt -- he felt suddenly so empty. Jaskier had scampered back home and tried to ignore that ever happened, simply because he was absolutely not the sort to fall asleep and go walking around like some sort of ghost.

Easy enough to wipe it away as a fluke. Except the next time he went out and needed a light, his magic wouldn't come.

Then: a nightmare. Of the Cwyld.

To Jaskier, the two were connected. Despite the Coven's promises, some part of him still worries the Cwyld lingered in him. To have gotten rid of an infection that had settled so deep -- well, he's far from a healer, but it didn't feel possible. And now, his magic not coming to him when he calls --

Jaskier takes off into the town, not sure where he means to go but finding himself at that club he'd run into Alice at. (A good place to avoid his Bonded.) He isn't even particularly drawn to the idea of watching the dancers, but once he walks in, it's all he can think about. He relaxes in a booth and lets the persistent itching of his head go ignored.

Until a glass is set down in front of him and startles him completely out of his trance.] Ah! Geralt! [He flusters, scrambling to sit up in his seat, as if he's a second away from jettisoning off of it to escape. His heart pounds. It was not an accident he had gone somewhere he didn't think Geralt or Yennefer would step foot in. Not nowadays.

He straightens the hat on his head.] W-what are you doing here? This isn't your usual tavern.

[ A spooked deer. Geralt regards him carefully. Where before he might have given Jaskier shit for hiding here like some kind of frightened rabbit, he's not so quick to do so now. These days, it's all too possible something has genuinely scared the bard, whether it's as simple as Jaskier thinking he sees one of his kidnappers.

Not that he can smell that sort of panic or fear on Jaskier at the moment. It's more of a...skittish feeling.

He sits down without invitation. No point in beating around the bush. Jaskier is slippery with the truth when he has a mind to be. ]

Mm. I can't expand my horizons? [ He tips back his own drink. ] You've been distracted of late.

And what a time it is to decide to do so.

[It's the sort of thing he should think and not say, but Jaskier's certainly never been that type. A bloody perfect time, actually, when Jaskier is... dealing. With things. He's fine. He doesn't need anyone fawning over him, and certainly not Geralt, because --

Because it meant acknowledging things. One of those being that he was. Wrong.

And the power he'd had, for once in his life, was gone. (As if he'd ever done much with it.)]

You know very well I have a mind that is constantly working. And I've been thinking of new songs. That's all. [Except he's here, shrinking in his seat, and his arms are crossed, and he's not gulping down a free drink.] Oh, you always do this. Are you going to insist you never stick your nose into things? Must we repeat the fox-ear incident?

[Fuck, why did he say that? That only brought attention to. The obvious. That he was once again hiding something on his head.

Which he refuses to acknowledge. In any way.]

[Alice's first instinct is to diminish her role in things, wanting to point out that Burza has also been great company and how much Jaskier clearly loves her. But she stops herself. She knows very well what he's getting at, and dismissing it will do her no favors here.]

We've found it in each other.

[Jaskier hasn't been the only beneficiary in this relationship. He's given her warmth and human connection when she felt most isolated, helping her expand her view of herself beyond the mourning she's done here and the tragedy awaiting her back home. Even though neither of them have been especially okay lately, to varying degrees and for varying reasons, her time spent with him makes the burden feel a bit lighter.]

I don't think either of us really realized how much that mattered until...

[She cuts herself off with a cough and a bit of a blush, followed by a sip of her wine to buy herself enough time for a redirection. Alice has no idea how much, if anything, Jaskier has told Geralt about that. Nor does she want to, honestly. Let that conversation remain between men.

But there's no denying that their meeting in that club and what happened after has significantly changed the trajectory of their relationship. For the better, or at least she'd like to think so.]

Until more recently.

I can't speak for him, but in my experience... trauma and heartache are easier to handle when there's companionship to share the burden. So it's been good for him, I hope.

[ Until? Geralt cocks his head, not at her comment but the way she's made it and the faint flutter he can hear in her heart. He doesn't mean to find it amusing, but it is a little. He's almost never in conversation with someone so...bashful.

He carefully sidesteps giving input on trauma. He and Jaskier have polar ways of dealing with that. It's not in his plans to have yet another person tell him he should let someone else in. To help. Whatever he's done has worked for the past century. He's fine.

Instead, he picks up the bottle of wine on the grass, tipping it into his glass. At some point, he might go for the bottle itself, but they haven't reached that stage yet. ]

I can tell you you've gotten him out of the house more. I should thank you for that. He's a pain in my ass.

[ His expression is skeptical. He studies Jaskier's hat, his face. Funny, that Jaskier gets so pissed off at Geralt not wanting to talk about anything and then he runs off doing this.

He leans to the side as a woman brushes by wrapped in multiple feathery scarves and not much else. She looks like a half-plucked pigeon. ]

Jaskier. We're fucking bonded. Whatever you're hiding, you can't hide it from that.

[ He's going to find out sooner or later, anyway. He'd rather it be sooner—especially with everything that's been going on lately. ]

[Alice isn't so presumptive to tell Geralt how to handle himself or his own trauma. ~~(Yet.)~~ She's merely speaking to what she and Jaskier have both responded best to. Given that her relationship is with the bard and not the Witcher sitting here with her tonight, that's the more important thing for her to consider.]

That's a bit of a harsh way of putting it, don't you think?

[The words are delivered with a sort of lopsided smile, not really scolding in any way. It's not that different than how Yuri speaks about Zhuzhen or Keith. Or how Jaskier speaks of Geralt, for that matter, although the words themselves are different. "Brute" comes up fairly often. She's just accepted that men can be like this and rolls with it.

She just can't help but stick up for Jaskier, even if only a little.]

He isn't a pain in mine, so I'm happy to get him out of your hair every once in awhile.

Edited 2021-05-10 23:01 (UTC)

[ One eyebrow lifts. Now he does look amused. That's some blossoming romance, isn't it? It's one thing to hear it from Jaskier; the bard has never experienced a lukewarm emotion in his life. It's another to see it from the girl, too.

Something to mention to Yennefer. Not for anything, just—she won't say it, but he knows she's been concerned about Jaskier, in her own way. She's the only one who'd walked through his nightmares with him.

Besides. They both wanted to see Jaskier back to himself. Ever since they'd bonded, the three of them, it's twice as easy to feel it when the balance is...askew. An unsettling sense that can't be shaken.

He tips his glass towards her. ] A fair deal.

[Alice meets his tipped glass with her own, clinking them lightly before taking a sip of her wine.]

I can't help but feel like I'm getting the better half of it.

[His amusement toward her is noted, and she realizes that she's doing absolutely nothing to dissuade it by expressing her fondness toward Jaskier in such a way. But it's nice to talk about here in this uncomplicated circumstance. Most of the conversations she's had about people she cares dearly about lately have been with those people, sorting out feelings and relationship statuses and changes brought on by... Jaskier's mirror? Who even knows.

Here, she can just talk about how she feels without worrying about the stakes of it. And it seems that Geralt isn't unhappy about the situation, at the very least. She'll accept that.

That just leaves one other person of Jaskier's that she needs to meet.]

Your other Bonded, the sorceress. [Sorry Yen, Alice doesn't know your name. If Jaskier's mentioned it, it's only been in passing.] Do you know if she knows about me yet?

And don't sound so pleased about it. [Despite himself and this entire situation, his eyes track the woman because, well. He came here for a reason. And after having asked the Coven on details, he's suddenly not sure whether it's him who wanted to come here, or --

He sighs. Unlike last time, he's thinking a little more than before. He's acutely aware Geralt did not come here to ogle beautiful women.]

My magic's gone. [He mumbles it, barely audible over the music. At least to human ears. Fuck it. If Geralt's got him a drink, then fine. He pulls it close and takes a deep drink.] Forever. So my only hope is that you receive no more truth curses.

[ His expression shifts the second Yennefer becomes a topic. They might be speaking again, but there's always something between them that never goes away: old wounds, a childhood neither will speak of, a stubborn willfulness. He wants to say Ciri's arrival has made things more complicated; in truth, it's never been anything less than.

Despite his initial assumptions, he realizes Yennefer might already be aware of Alice. She keeps a close eye on things. He considers, turning his wineglass in his hand. ]

Only Yennefer can answer what she knows.

[ Not even he's privy to all of her cards. It's clear, from his reply, that his relationship with Yen is a different sort than what Alice seems to share with Jaskier. ]

[ Gone? No. Geralt frowns. ] What aren't you saying?

[ The one time Jaskier decides to get tight-lipped about his situation. He rubs his temple. Far be it from him to make his concern for Jaskier so obvious, but his patience as of late has worn thin quickly.

It can't only be that about his magic. The only time he's heard of this is when a Witch has been deliberately stripped of their magic—and he knows for a fact that Jaskier hasn't done anywhere near anything that would get him into that sort of trouble. Besides, he also knows that the loss of one's magic means a loss in the bond. But that's not what he's feeling. It's still there, holding strong. It's only that the hum of the magic linking them is different. Thicker. Like too much pollen in the air. ]

[He pauses. It's so annoying, the prickling he feels in his eyes. He hasn't really allowed himself to swallow it. What's happened. What this means. What the Cwyld did to him. It's the only thing that makes sense. And though the Coven has sworn up and down that it's not how this works, he can't let go of the feeling. Of how hard he fought in the nightmares about the Cwyld.

He takes his hat off, showing the three blue horns that have begun to sprout from his forehead, the hint of his scalp beginning to turn blue.

It was a folly to think he could've kept it from Geralt. He always sticks his nose in the wrong business, when people don't want him there.]

I'm not a witch anymore.

That makes sense. Forget I asked.

[Alice can tell from the change of expression and tone that this is a topic left well enough alone. Clearly, there's much more going on there than she could possibly know. Better to simply drop it. (She does, however, resolve to remember the sorceress's name: Yennefer. Alice thinks it sounds quite pretty.)

The silence that follows feels awkward, at least to her, but she's not sure how to go about breaking it. She lacks the sort of confidence and personality to keep chattering at a man whose reputation of being one of few words precedes him, and she's wary of bringing up another topic that might have unanticipated snares. So she takes a drink of her wine, looking around at the scenery and wondering if she should take her leave.

A faun approaches them then, giving Alice a wink before turning to Geralt.]

"Good sir, I was wondering if I could borrow your lovely date here for the next dance?"

[Alice chokes on her wine in response.]

( SEMI-OPEN ) may catch-all

♞ jaskier

♞ alice

♞ zack

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